Activists covered the stands (1) with fishing nets, chained
themselves to the stands and put up banners in 13 languages saying;
'Time and Tuna running out'. A large banner with the same message
was hung from the front of the building. A message was also
broadcast through the exhibition halls' public address systems
urging traders to buy only sustainably-caught seafood.
"These companies are major players in the tuna industry and are
jointly destroying tuna stocks by overfishing and using destructive
fishing methods", said Sebastian Losada, Greenpeace Spain Oceans
Campaigner. "Blatant overfishing will lead to commercial extinction
of many tuna stocks in the near future unless urgent action is
taken."
"Tuna stocks are at a critically low level with too many vessels
fishing for too few fish. High levels of bycatch of other marine
life is a serious problem", said Losada. "If the industry doesn't
shift towards sustainable seafood there will simply be no fish left
to trade, and their businesses will be closed forever."
Last year, Greenpeace attended the Seafood Exposition (2) to call on companies to trade in
sustainable seafood only. Since then, Greenpeace has been
contacting leading retailers and bulk users of seafood to ask them
to ensure what they sell is legal, sustainable and fair. Nina
Thuellen, Greenpeace International Seafood Markets Campaigner:
"Greenpeace is disappointed to see that while some retailers are
now in the process of implementing sustainable seafood policies
there remains a very high volume of unsustainable seafood on offer
at this important trade show."
Meanwhile, the Greenpeace ship Esperanza is in the
Pacific Ocean, taking action against overfishing and calling for
the creation of marine reserves (3). Fishing vessels involved in
unsustainable, unfair and sometimes even illegal tuna fishing in
the region are damaging the tuna stocks and are threatening the
future of the Pacific Island States that depend on tuna for their
livelihoods and food.
Greenpeace advocates the creation of a network of marine
reserves, protecting 40 per cent of the world's oceans, as the long
term solution to overfishing and the recovery of our overexploited
oceans.
Other contacts: Evandro Oliveira, Greenpeace International Media OfficerTel: +31 653504718Sebastian Losada, Greenpeace Spain, CampaignerTel: +34 626998254 Nina Thuellen, Greenpeace International Seafood Markets Campaigner. Tel: +43 664 5484553For more information on the Esperanza tour please contact:Dean Baigent-Mercer, Communications Officer on board the Esperanza Tel: +872 324 469 014 (GMT + 11)
VVPR info: Greenpeace International Photodesk: John Novis: +00 31 (0) 6 290 01162Greenpeace International Videodesk: +00 31 (0) 6 461 62015
Notes: 1) The trading stands closed down by Greenpeace are Mitsubishi Corporation (Japan), the world's largest tuna trader; Ricardo Fuentes (Spain), which controls an estimated 60% of bluefin tuna production in the Mediterranean; Dongwon Fisheries (Korea), which holds more than a 75% share of the Korean tuna market; Azzopardi Fisheries (Malta), which operates the largest tuna farming operation in the Mediterranean; and Moon Marine (Taiwan), a global operator heavily involved in tuna longline fisheries in Indonesia. 2) The European Seafood Exposition at the Parc des Expositions in Brussels is one of the world's largest seafood sales events with over 1,600 companies exhibiting from approximately 80 different countries. It attracts over 20,000 attendees from more than 140 countries, including decision-makers from companies that dominate the seafood industry in Europe and around the world, including retailers, caterers, importers, exporters, wholesalers and processors. 3) Greenpeace activists from the Esperanza deployed a banner reading 'Marine Reserves Now' near the bow of the Korean purse seine vessel Olympus. The ship is owned by Dongwon Industries Co. Ltd, whose stand at the European Seafood Exposition is among those that have been closed down today.